Most of us are on social media. Whether you’re keeping in touch with family on Facebook or have a foodie following on your Instagram, it’s easy to share personal successes on social media while gaining a ton of engagement, but how does a brand do that? The following are ways brands can be more authentic on social media to better connect with their audiences.
- Avoid fluff content. If you think you need “filler content” to maintain consistency on your accounts, skip it. When it comes to connecting with your audience quality is always better than quantity.
- Don’t over photoshop. If you’re editing photos to enhance them, no problem but if someone on your team thinks it’s clever to photoshop products into other photos, your audience will notice.
- NO CLICKBAIT. The last thing a brand needs is to trick their audience into clicking for ROI results. Not only does this upset your audience but if “clicks” is the most important ROI, it’s time to revisit your overall social media strategy.
- Share behind the scenes. Whether it’s a product or service that you provide, your audience wants to know more. What materials make up your product? Who provides those materials? What does it take to provide a service? These things can help generate more content and maintain transparency between your brand and your audience.
- Share candid photos. For the influencers out there, it’s okay to share candid photos. Your audience will probably connect even more with you knowing that you’re just like them.
- Not sure? Don’t post it. Not every brand can easily tie in their product or service to hot topics. If there’s a hint of hesitation on whether you think a post will cause an uproar, avoid it.
- Social media is for the long haul. We all know marketing is for pushing the bottom line but when it comes to social media. However, brands need to remember that results don’t happen over night and it takes time to build relationships with their audience.
- Mess up? Own it. We’re not perfect and that goes for brands too. Sometimes what might seem like a good idea can backfire and if that happens, brands need to be the first to admit they are at fault. This helps humanize the brand and might even be beneficial in the long run.